The "This Might Be A Stupid Question, But...." Thread

[Virg]

Betelnut wrote:

"If so, how many plants would one person need to sustain him/herself?  (And vice versa, I guess...)"

If the only concern for circular processing is the atmosphere, then a container about the size of a trailer home or commecrial bus could contain sufficient plant life to allow for carbon dioxide scrubbing to the level of a single human surviving.  Of course, as Slartibartfast wrote, there's a lot more to closed biospheres than the oxygen cycle so something capable of sustaining a single human in all ways would require a lot more.  If you wanted to incorporate technology (for example, an active CO2 scrubber driven by solar power rather than using plants to do the job) then you can start sizing the habitat down again, but for an all natural solution that's about the minimum.

Virg

[Tea Drinker]

for a long time, it also depends on what the container is made of.

in the biosphere 2 project, the amount of oxygen in the air of their closed ecosystem dropped, eventually to something like 15% (from a normal 21). it turned out that they had used a kind of concrete that absorbed oxygen from the air.

[AfleetAlex]

An aside - Anytime someone mentions biodomes, I think of the Tragically Hip song "Titanic Terrarium" where he sings, "Growing up in a biosphere / No respect for bad weather."

[guihong]

How do Olympic figure skaters not get freezing cold out there?  Every rink I've ever been in is uncomfortable without a coat, let alone in a skimpy outfit.  If they have to fake it, it's great acting!

[Thipu1]

I don't think figure skaters have to fake it.  If you watch closely, they're moving so quickly and executing such athletic moves that they generate a lot of heat and don't feel the cold. 

[Outdoor Girl]

You don't feel the cold during a performance, for sure, or during a rigorous practice.  The only time I was cold was when we had to do figures and you were just skating a figure 8 over and over and not really moving much.

(I used to skate.  I wasn't very good, mind you, but I used to skate.  )

[Katana_Geldar]

In actually don't find ice rinks that cold to be honest, I only wear long pants because if I fall I don't want my skin to touch the ice. Moving around sure keeps you warm enough, and if it's a hot summers day the ice is a great place to be.

[Slartibartfast]

How do Olympic figure skaters not get freezing cold out there?  Every rink I've ever been in is uncomfortable without a coat, let alone in a skimpy outfit.  If they have to fake it, it's great acting!

The outfits also aren't as skimpy as they look - if you pay close attention, you can often see that much of the "bare skin" is actually flesh-colored costume.

[Dindrane]

How do Olympic figure skaters not get freezing cold out there?  Every rink I've ever been in is uncomfortable without a coat, let alone in a skimpy outfit.  If they have to fake it, it's great acting!

The outfits also aren't as skimpy as they look - if you pay close attention, you can often see that much of the "bare skin" is actually flesh-colored costume.

And the tights they wear are pretty substantial. They're not like sheer nylons one would wear to the office...they really are opaque tights, and probably pretty warm.

[Dazi]

How do Olympic figure skaters not get freezing cold out there?  Every rink I've ever been in is uncomfortable without a coat, let alone in a skimpy outfit.  If they have to fake it, it's great acting!

The outfits also aren't as skimpy as they look - if you pay close attention, you can often see that much of the "bare skin" is actually flesh-colored costume.

And the tights they wear are pretty substantial. They're not like sheer nylons one would wear to the office...they really are opaque tights, and probably pretty warm.

I think their skating is much more physically intense.  It's just not the same as you or I skating around a rink.  The best analogy I can come up with is between running and walking at a leisurely pace.  I can walk for a very long time without breaking a sweat, but if I start jogging I get warm/hot very quick. 

Also, those outfits are thicker than one might think.  Have you ever seen them wipe out and notice that those "stockings" don't run/rip?  They are actually pretty thick tights.  All the flesh color across the chest, back, and down the arms is material too.

[Dazi]

In your experience/opinion, what would you consider an normal average of days per year for someone to call in sick to work?  Examples: once every month, two months, 5, 10 days a year? What do you consider excessive?

[Outdoor Girl]

I know what my workplace considers excessive.

We get 6 sick days a year at full pay.  Then we have short term sick leave that kicks in where you only get 2/3 of your pay.  If you end up using STSL for sick days, you generally get called in for a little chat at more than 8 days total off.

And I think for the average person, this is pretty reasonable.

I'm the anomoly; I have only used all 6 days once in 10 years and that was because I got bronchitis.

[Bexx27]

I used a sick day possibly once a year, maybe even less, until I had kids. Now it's not so much that I get sick more (I do, but just colds) but that I have to use sick days to stay home when my kid is sick. Daycare guidelines mean that even minor symptoms will keep her out for 2-3 days because she needs to have been symptom free for a full 24 hours. Thanks to frequent colds, chronic ear infections, and medical appointments, I've used all 12 of my sick days each year since she was born.

[camlan]

In your experience/opinion, what would you consider an normal average of days per year for someone to call in sick to work?  Examples: once every month, two months, 5, 10 days a year? What do you consider excessive?

For a normal, healthy adult--3-5 days a year. If they are required to use sick days for doctor/dentist appointments, at least 5.

But if they have a medical problem, like surgery for appendicitis, two weeks.

If they have small children and their employers requires them to use their sick days to take care of sick children at home, all available sick days that they have.

A lot depends on the expectations of the employer, as well. I've worked places where you were expected to show up unless you were hospitalized. And I've worked other places where if you had a cold or the flu or a stomach bug, they wanted you to stay home so that the entire office wouldn't come down sick.

My brother was hit by a car while riding his bicycle one Saturday. His leg was broken and required surgery, which couldn't be done until Monday. So he was in the hospital from Saturday to Tuesday, released from the hospital Tuesday, took Wednesday off as he still felt groggy and returned to work on Thursday. On Friday, he was called into the big boss's office and counseled on his "excessive" absences. Yes, Monday-Wednesday, the first three sick days he had taken in 5 years of employment at that company. (He was also told to stop riding his bike. Six months later, he had a new job.)

[demarco]

I have a question about streaming video. If I had something like HBO Go which, provides  on demand access to some HBO programs, can I "stream it" and then watch it later when I don't have internet access or do I have to watch it as it arrives on the laptop?  The specific case I am thinking of is streaming content at the airport to watch on the plane.